


Frangipani Waves

by nebeoland



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, balinese!lance au, lance centric, sorry in advance, sort of, updates more sparse than water in a desert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-07-28 10:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7636849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nebeoland/pseuds/nebeoland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only thing that kept Lance together during the time he spent defending the universe was the picture of his family on his lion's control dashboard, the wave-like purring sound at the back of his mind, and the memory of his family's frangipani tree in their backyard, so when Allura suggested that the paladins take a break (or more like a family vacation according to Pidge), Lance took them to the only place that he knew like the back of his hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i saw tropicoola's fanart of a balinese lance on tumblr and almost started crying because i didn't realize i how much i needed it so i decided to word-vomit. part of this is fueled by my recent vacation back home to bali lol
> 
> thanks for stopping by and i hope you enjoy \o

 

 

Lance rarely talked of his family to the other paladins, so he was very much surprised when Allura suggested that they return to Earth for a little to see their families and a little break. It wasn’t that Lance didn’t like sharing about himself (Keith would argue that Lance liked to _over_ share), but family was such a private and personal part of himself that he wasn’t exactly ready to reveal to the others. He trusted the other paladins, Allura and Coran as well, but you gotta be able to draw the line between work and family, y’know?

Normally, Lance would hop on the suggestion of returning home faster than any of the others, and he did initially. But after a brief moment of thought, Lance suddenly felt uneasy. “Is that a good idea, though?” he asked the others as they gathered around the table for dinner.

“I’m surprised you’re worried,” Coran pointed out, scooping another spoonful of the green goo that Lance still couldn’t quite stomach. “Princess Allura figured that you’d be ecstatic about returning home.”

“I’m all for this homecoming trip,” Hunk announced, visibly excited at the idea of seeing his family once more. “Oh man, oh man, I can’t wait to taste pineapple and pig suckling again and sipping on coconut juice under the sunny skies.”

“Lance is right,” Shiro piped in. “The reason we’re not going home is because we’re the only ones who can defeat the Galra empire. Wouldn’t going back to Earth ruin the progress we’ve made and maybe even put Earth itself in danger?”

“Based on the most recent scans of the universe, it seems that Galra troops are nowhere near Earth,” Allura replied. “In fact, I believe the Milky Way galaxy is in the safer part of space. None of the surrounding galaxies within the next few hundred light years of Earth has been touched by any Galra troops.”

“Well let’s hope it stays that way because I am ready to get my sun tan on!” Hunk exclaimed before diving back into his food.

Lance realized that his comment had put him a little out of character because Keith was looking at him funny from across the table, so he went back into doing what he does best: tormenting Keith. “Don’t look so concerned, Keith. When we get back to Earth, I’ll help you get some girls.” Keith threw his spoon at him, and he ducked just in time to see the utensil fly over his shoulder. “Okay fine, geez, I’ll help you get some guys as well.”

This time Keith threw his entire plate.

 

\--

 

To be quite honest, Lance missed home more than anything, and everyone knew that because he would never stop talking about quickly getting things done and over with so he could return to Earth. He thought being at the garrison was difficult, and that was only a 24 hour plane ride away from home. Now? Now he doesn’t even know where in space he is, and he couldn’t exactly try to contact his family and tell them that he was between a yellow star and a blue star. But for some reason it felt weird for him to think that he was going home for a short time because he was used to being told that they couldn’t go home until the empire is defeated. After a while, Lance started accepting it as a universal truth, and it worked with keeping homesickness at bay for the most part.

In the instances when that feeling of emptiness hit him, Lance has a photo of his family to look at. It was only one picture, but he made several copies for safe-keeping. He had always taken one with him; at first in his wallet, then behind his ID tag when he was at the garrison, and now one was taped against the wall of his bed and one taped to an empty space on the control dashboard of his lion. It served as a reminder for him, a hope that he still had a family and a home to return to.

In the times when he couldn’t sleep, Lance would always try to remember as much of home as possible--the waves at the beach, the distinctive smell of frangipani from the trees in the backyard, the taste of his mother’s traditional cooking--and it always eased him into slumber. With the amount of technology they had in hand (and with Pidge’s help), Lance managed to make a playlist with the traditional music he grew up listening to, the ones that his dad and younger brothers played during the late summer evenings after dinner. Sometimes it made him want to perform alongside the ensemble like he used to when he was younger. Other times it made him cry in private because he didn’t know when he would hear the real thing again.

The thing is, as much as he wanted to go home and herd his grandmother’s ducks around the rice terraces like he used to, how much time has passed on Earth? From the little Lance remembered about space travel during his time at the garrison, time flows differently in space than it does on Earth. Add the fact that they were probably light years away from Earth, god knows how long they’ve been gone? More than that, he basically disappeared without a trace. The garrison officers weren’t exactly going to tell his family that their son disappeared into space on board a mechanical lion along with other strangers. It would start an international controversy.

But after staying alone with his thoughts and his childhood music, Lance shook his head and gave the picture taped to the wall two taps as if sending a message to his family. They were still his family no matter what, and Lance was more than ready to see them again.

“I’m coming home.”

 

\--

 

“So tell me again, why do we have to pile into the blue lion?” Keith asked.

Everyone was gathered at the blue lion hangar. Lance felt a smooth hum coming from the back of his mind, the purr of his lion’s consciousness. It seemed like Blue was excited, too. The travel plan was simple: go in (almost) the same way they went out aboard the blue lion.

“Because it looks like the blue lion didn’t get detected by government and military radar when we went out,” Pidge explained as she made final adjustments on the lion’s system. “Because if we were detected, they would be after our ass right now somehow. One, for escaping with Shiro, who was under the garrison quarantine, and two, for escaping with alien tech.”

“Okay, so how exactly will we hide the lion?” Hunk asked, readjusting the strap of his pack. “A giant metal cat can’t exactly physically hide government surveillance.”

“Lance is taking care of that part, I think he mentioned hiding it behind an underwater trench. Also, we’re all going to one place. Logistically, it’s easier and most convenient that way,” Shiro replied. “The castle is going to stay in orbit so in case anything happens, we can just haul back to it and deal with the problem. Lance, I hope you have a good idea of where to head to.”

“Wait, you’re giving Lance free reign on where to go? I didn’t agree to this!” Keith argued.

“Actually, yes you did,” Lance responded as he made his way into his lion’s mouth. “Pidge had tried to find you but you were always training, so she just asked while you were at it and you agreed to it. Even Allura is on board with our vacation plans.”

“Wait Allura’s coming?” Keith asked as he followed Lance.

“Why of course I am!” Allura shouted, making her way to the blue lion. “I would very much love the chance to interact with humans and perhaps form diplomatic ties with Earth.”

“Oh no, not in that outfit you won’t,” Pidge responded as she followed Allura into the lion. “We’ll work on that when we get there.”

“How about you, Coran? You coming with us?” Hunk asked before entering the lion.

“Oh no no, not I. Someone has to stay to make sure the castle is safe,” Coran said, twirling his moustache with one hand. “But I have instructed the princess to bring me presents from Earth! Something exciting and very… Earth!”

“Alright, Coran.” Hunk gave him two thumbs up before making the rest of his way to the lion.

“Hold down the fort Coran, we’ll be back in a couple of days,” Shiro said and waved before entering the lion.

The ride down was turbulent, but not as bad when they were leaving Earth’s atmosphere (and not as loud because Lance actually knew how to pilot his lion so Hunk wasn’t screaming as much). As Lance flew close to the surface of the ocean, it felt weird to see clouds and the sun again. It was the good kind of weird, the kind that made him bubble with excitement and nostalgia.

Lance could tell that his passengers also felt the same. Hunk couldn’t stop talking about the blueness of the ocean as Pidge tried to ignore him and get a GPS location of their position. Keith and Shiro were quiet, but Lance didn’t have to turn to look at them to know that they were smiling. Allura was also silent, astonished at the new sight she was seeing.

“So… where exactly are we?” Keith asked after a while.

“I’m still trying to get a GPS signal,” Pidge replied.

“We’re flying over the Indian Ocean, just below the Tropic of Capricorn,” Lance easily responded. “Facing northeast. India is about that way,” Lance pointed over his left shoulder before pointing to the front right corner of the control pod, “and Australia is around that way.”

“How are you so sure of where we are?” Allura asked, peering over Lance’s chair to look at the navigation panel on the dashboard. It didn’t show much, just coordinates, speed, fuel, and other details regarding the lion and their travel conditions.

“Basic piloting. Coordinates give me a general idea of where we are, and the sun gives me the east-west orientation.”

“Didn’t realize you understood coordinates,” Keith piped in, not moving his gaze from the endless view of the water’s surface.

“That’s rich coming from the garrison dropout,” Lance retorted back. “Bet you were scared when you heard a new up-and-coming pilot taking your spot at the top, weren’t you?”

“Alright enough you two,” Shiro interjected before things escalated even further. “Where exactly are you taking us Lance? You only mentioned that you wanted to go to your hometown. As a matter of fact, I don’t actually know where your hometown is.”

Pidge looked up from her portable screen. “Yeah you never told me or Hunk about it either when we were at the garrison. All you would ever said is that it is the most beautiful place any of us would ever see. Where _are_ we going?”

“Home, _my_ home.” Lance increased the speed of his lion with a grin, eyes twinkling because he was so close to the sands and the waves and the grilled fish by the beach. “We are going to Bali, baby.”

 

\--

 

Lance landed the lion underwater behind the Java Trench, just south of the Lombok Basin. Pidge managed to access several radio stations and found out that it has been about six months since they left earth (“Felt more like six years to me,” Hunk responded when Pidge relayed the information).

Moving from the lion to shore proved to be the trickiest part of the journey. The lion had several escape pods for emergencies, and Lance thanked himself because in the past, he managed to convince Pidge to help him change the programming of one of them in case of underwater and above-water emergencies or rescues. Pidge had thought it was ridiculous because they were in space for god’s sake, but eventually relented to the constant nagging.

“Told you it would be convenient,” Lance told Pidge, who rolled her eyes before entering the pod. Once the pod ejected and the particle barrier around the lion activated, Lance piloted the pod underwater. While the blue lion will remain undetected by military radar, these pods weren’t equipped with as much anti-radar programming, which meant that the chance of getting tracked by the military was much higher. Lance had consulted Shiro prior to their departure about the matter, and they both agreed that staying deep underwater may be the best course of action.

The view underwater was no less magnificent than the surface of the ocean. North of the trench was the Java Ridge, and the pod travelled through several different layers of the underwater ecosystem. Allura was full of questions, and Shiro answered most of them along with Hunk, who Lance knew was also familiar with the waters and the sea, what with a Polynesian bloodline and all. Pidge was still focused on trying to establish positioning, but she does look up every now and then to watch the view of the fish parting around the pod. Keith was quiet the entire time, and Lance half-hoped that Keith wasn’t the type to get motion sickness.

Lance positioned the pod to ride the northern Australian current that flowed towards the northwest to quicken travel time, but even when riding the current and travelling at top speed, the trip from the lion to shore took quite some time. The sun was rising on the eastern horizon when Lance parked his lion, and after adjusting his watch to local time, Lance guessed that they would make landfall in the evening. There was enough food in the pod to give everyone a decent meal until they could get a proper one. The paladins took turns piloting the pod, and with Pidge’s GPS tracking finally working, navigation wasn’t going to be a problem. After several hours, they eventually surfaced just far enough to avoid suspicion but close enough to see the first dark line of cliffsides. With Pidge’s pre-installed programming, the pod transformed into a small boat, and Lance drove the boat to shore.

“I’m taking us to Melasti Beach,” Lance shouted over the motor so everyone could hear. Melasti Beach was located on the southernmost part of the Bali island, secluded enough from the crowded Pandawa Beach several kilometers east of it. The beach was small in the past, one of the several beaches at that region of the island. As the years went by and the Indonesian government pushed for both modernization and preservation, Melasti Beach was expanded and became a spot to dock boats that travelled between the beaches in South Kuta to promote tourism and increase access. The great part about this increased access is that boats that dock would not need to schedule ahead; as long as there was space, upon docking, the owner of the boat would only have to write a claims to the vehicle, which are kept by the security officials at the beach.

As they got closer to the beach, high cliffs dotted with villas met their sights. The cliffs, especially the ones on the eastern part of the shore, were once a chalk mining site. Eventually, with enough excavation, roadways to the beaches were formed and the area became a tourist attraction. Lance wanted to explain to the others about the area, but he knew screaming over the motor would only hurt his vocal chords. Not that any of them wanted explanations yet--no, they were busy viewing the sunset. It took another half hour before Lance docked the boat, and after taking care of paperwork, he regrouped with the others.

“That sunset was beautiful, Lance!” Allura exclaimed once Lance was back with the others. “We must see more of it!”

Lance shrugged and gave an easy smile. “Sure. I’ll take you to a better one soon,” he said as he led them through the clean sands of Melasti Beach. Sand was getting into his shoes and his feet felt so swollen, but something about the smell of saltwater gave Lance a newfound vigor and realized that he was almost running to the road if not for the local booth owners calling out to him and his friends with offers of food and drinks. That, and the local woman who apparently had her sights set on Allura’s long hair and was offering to braid it. She spoke in English, and was very insistent about braiding her hair no matter how much Allura refused, so Lance decided to step in and hope that his rusty Balinese would do the trick. "Ten, bu, ten. Turis niki teman tiang."

The woman blinked in surprised and laughed and let them go only to stop Lance. "Bli saking dija?"

"Keluarga tiang di Gianyar, tiang di Amerika."

“C’mon Lance!” Keith called out. Lance turned to look and realized that they had walked on ahead. “What’s holding you? Hunk’s hungry for Earth food.”

“Chill, I’m coming,” Lance replied before turning to the woman who stopped him so he could politely excuse himself. Except the woman was now staring at him, and Lance has no idea why. “Bu?”

“Lance? You are Lance?” she asked in English. “The one to America to be astronaut?”

Becoming an astronaut was such a foreign concept for Lance at this point, but the reason he was even at the garrison was indeed to become an astronaut. “Yes, I guess that’s me.”

Only after the woman started praising god and squishing his face did it occur to him about who he was and the kind of status his name carried. “Holy shit guys I’m Lance!” he shouted, running towards the others. “I’m motherfucking Lance!”

“Yes we know that,” Pidge responded sarcastically.

“No, you don’t understand Pidge.” Lance looked back at the woman who was busy trying to get the attention of her husband, one of the dock attendants, before turning back to Pidge. “I’m Lance, the local Balinese kid who went to the United States for the space training academy, the first Balinese to train to be a fighter pilot for the space program. The entire island practically threw a week-long party when they announced that I was accepted into the academy and a massive farewell when I left.”

“So?” Keith asked. “They should probably know that you’re a shit pilot, too.”

“Listen buddy, don’t you pop my bubble, because my name is about to make all of our lives a whole lot easier. Wait here.” Lance ran back to the woman and her husband, who seemed to be so dumbfounded, and gave them a brief explanation of their situation, leaving out the part about space, the mechanical lion, and the submarine pod. After asking repeatedly not to tell anyone that he has returned and thanking the woman and her husband profusely, he returned to the others. “I got us a free ride back to my family’s place. Hopefully traffic isn’t heavy.”

“How about food?” Hunk asked while rubbing his stomach. “Space goo can only keep me filled for so long. We all need some proper protein and carbs in our system--oh?” The woman had apparently gone to one of the food stalls and returned with several small plastic containers of snack and shoved it into Hunk’s hands as well as the others. “Lance what’s this?”

Lance at first tried to refuse as a common practice, but relented eventually and grinned when he realized what it was. “It’s a local pastry snack, kue kelemben,” he told Hunk. “I grew up on this. My mom always tried to hide them whenever she gets them from the market because I can finish a pack of 8 in minutes.” Lance opened the packaging and took a bite out of one the small cakes and almost cried because oh _god, he missed this so much._ It was sweet but not so much, the outer layer soft but crispy at the same time, and it made his chest feel warm. He thanked the woman once more, who merely smiled and cupped his face as if he was her son coming home from a long journey.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen my bali blood is from my dad and i don't speak a lick of balinese except "yes," "no," "not spicy," and "already" so if the balinese i use is wrong please let me know. also i kinda rushed through this so my grammar is probably allover the place lmao
> 
> about the local woman's english: whenever you go to a beach in bali, if you look remotely like a foreigner or if you're speaking english to your friends, the locals who run shops and braid hair will approach you speaking english. their english isn't perfect, which is why i wrote it the way i did
> 
> lance's (a.k.a. my) playlist: https://play.spotify.com/user/12160112758/playlist/34fPWqWbP8bRdJNZv5TCXJ
> 
> "Ten, bu, ten. Turis niki teman tiang" - "No, ma'am, no. This tourist is my friend."  
> "Bli saking dija?" - "Where are you from?"  
> "Keluarga tiang di Gianyar, tiang di Amerika" - "My family is in Gianyar, I'm from America."


	2. Chapter 2

Bali had come a long way from its past. While the Indonesian government pushed for modernization of the entire nation to keep up with world trends, Bali, along with several other world heritage sites in Indonesia, remained as one of the few places that the people and government had tried to keep relatively untouched by modern technology to preserve its history for future generations. Save for the new forms of transportation throughout the island and updated technology within the central hub of the major districts, rural Bali remained true to how nature and humanity designed it to be. Lance mentally thanked the government and the people who fought for this preservation because he couldn’t imagine any other Bali that could exist in place of the one he read from his history textbooks when he was in grade school or the one that he lived and grew up with.

Free transportation to the main island from South Kuta came in the form of _ojek._ “It’s like taxi, except it’s a motorcycle, it’s only for one person and the driver, and you get to haggle,” Lance had explained when the others asked. Because they were traveling in a rather large group, they had to split up, one motorcycle per person. Lance had insisted that they paid the fare, but the woman from earlier refused to let up her side of the argument, saying something along the lines of how it would shame her to charge the pride of the island for transportation fare.

“Isn’t there anything safer?” Keith asked, eyeing the helmet that was handed to him before the motorcycle itself. “Like, I don’t know… hovercrafts or something?”

“And this is coming from the same man who crashed his lion into a sand dune during his first blind test flight? Unbelievable,” Lance chided, hopping onto the back seat of one of the motorcycles eagerly. “Tsk, tsk, I thought you were more daring, Keith. I guess I was wrong.”

Lance mentally grinned when Keith narrowed his eyes and put on the helmet. “Okay, first of all, you started it, and second, you crashed into that dune not 100 meters from me,” he retorted while getting on the back of a different motorcycle. “This is nothing.”

After the others were strapped in and ready to go, Lance gave a final thank you and waved goodbye to the woman and her husband, who had told him to come back to the beach soon. The others gave their thanks as well, and Lance’s motorcycle driver led the way under his passenger’s guidance. Though more roadways were paved into South Kuta for better access, not much of the landmarks had changed. Departing from the beach, the roads were hilly, and both sides of the road were lined with villas and hotels, as well as private residences of the locals. Drivers, especially the more experienced ones, knew the ebb and flow of the streets like an overly memorized map. Lance admittedly was out of tune with the roads, but it didn’t take long for him to regain that rhythm and revel in the tight, quick turns and the close brushes with other vehicles. He couldn’t say the same about his companions, though, as he heard Hunk’s voice shout over the drum of the motor about how fast they were approaching a corner, or Pidge’s small screams from the cars they almost collided with. Keith, Shiro, and Allura seemed to take it all in just fine, though Lance did notice the tense expression on Keith’s face as he tried to get the rhythm of the turns and how Shiro as holding the jacket of his driver like it was the only thing that would keep him alive. Allura laughed at every close brush, and Lance secretly feared for himself because that wasn’t exactly the reaction he expected.

There was always this shift in the type of merriment that Lance felt as he remembered his travels through Bali when he was younger. The beaches were always full of tourists, which gave him a foreigner’s type of hype, ones filled with beer and surfers and Australian accents. Past the beach is a shift to something more rural and traditional, a transition area between the main districts and the shore. This area was where Lance felt almost rejuvenated; not many tourists stop in these middle-grounds, so it was one of the best places listen to the old and new Bali mingle. Past those middle-grounds was the main districts, where any type of modern technology brought into the island lived. Hovercrafts, electrical cars, zero-emission vehicles, and everything in between coexisted with the older forms of transportation and technology. The vibe of the city is very different; not exactly Old Bali, but not quite New Bali either. It was like the merriment from entering a shopping mall, or playing at an amusement park. Natural but artificial at the same time.

They passed Garuda Wisnu Kencana on the way north, the towering statue now one of Bali’s signature landmarks. Lance remembered the elementary field trips he’d take there with his friends, and he briefly wondered what his friends were up to. Past the hilly roads from the beach and local population, the group eventually came across more signs of advanced technology: Unud University. Lance’s older sister was attending this university when Lance left for the space academy, and one of his uncles was part of the faculty. The ride through university grounds was quick without the traffic, but it slowed as they approached the airport and Kuta beach area. Lance knew there was a toll road that crossed the waters of Benoa Bay which could hasten their travel time, but because it is a courtesy ride from the locals, he instructed his driver to go follow the bypass to avoid the toll fee.

In a last minute decision, Lance told his driver to stay on Sunset Road towards Denpasar instead of following the bypass, which would actually take him to his parents’ home in Gianyar, and the driver followed without much concern. Half of Lance really wanted to go home and see his parents as soon as possible, but there was this slowly growing doubt and fear about suddenly shocking his parents after disappearing for six months without a word.

What had the academy told his parents about his disappearance? Did they come clean? Probably not, because if they did the entire country would be up and arms about it. But did that mean they lied about him missing? Would the academy protect their reputation by lying to his parents? Even if they did lie to his mother and father, how would Lance explain it to them? Suddenly appear and whip up a tale of a secret training program that didn’t allow any communication to the outside world? His younger siblings might buy it, but not his parents, and especially not his mother.

These were questions that Lance knew he’d need a night’s rest to properly answer (or lie about), and he knew that he’d only be able to get that night’s rest at his aunt and uncle’s place. They were married without children, so they treated Lance and his siblings, as well as his cousins, like their own. Except Lance knew that because he’s spent several years in America, he’d have all of their attention to himself. It was a risk that he was willing to take, and he would much rather face a motherly aunt than a motherly mother.

Dinner rush had subsided, though traffic remained quite heavy in Denpasar. The motorcycle drivers weaved through the streets, and after several more near-collisions and close calls with the traffic light, they managed to pull up into the small alley road that branched off of the main street. He stopped his driver at the fourth house and got off the motorcycle but signaled the others to wait because he wasn’t sure if his aunt and uncle were even home. There was a car parked under the carport, which meant nothing because Lance knew that his uncle preferred his motorcycle over it, but he did see the slightly open garage, which meant someone was home while another was out for an errand. The gate wasn’t locked, and when Lance tried to open it, the dog his uncle kept in his front yard started barking.

“Oh, shut up, it’s just me,” Lance shouted in the general direction of the dog’s cage as he slides the gate door open and beckoned the others to come in. He also invited the motorcycle drivers in, which was respectfully declined, and after another exchange of invitation and declination, Lance profusely thanked them for bringing them to his uncle’s house for free and promised that he’d pay them back when he returns to the beach. They left after a good laugh, and Lance closed the gate.

“Is anyone home, Lance?” Shiro asked.

“Maybe, I hope so,” Lance replied, latching the gate close but not locking it. “The garage is always a little open whenever someone’s home, so unless my uncle decided to abandon an old habit in the several years I haven’t been home, then someone should be home.”

Lance led the others through the small garage where three motorcycles and an old Volkswagen Beetle were parked, and Lance suddenly felt extremely nervous because he didn’t know what kind of reaction he’d get from his relatives. Shock, almost certain. Happiness? Relief? Maybe.

Lance couldn’t give that feeling another thought because he was opening the door that led into the house and found out that the lights past the dark living room were still turned on, and he froze. He could hear the muffled sound of a television tuned to a news station and the low hum of an electric fan that his uncle had placed on the coffee table in front of it, but the sound that stopped Lance from entering the house was the sound of his aunt and uncle talking to each other. He couldn’t pick out what exactly they were talking about, and it shouldn’t be such a big deal, but Lance suddenly felt breathless, unable to move.

“Lance?” Allura called out softly, which seemed to snap him out of whatever was holding him back.

Clearing his throat, Lance slipped off his shoes and placed it inside by the door. “Shoes off, guys,” he said as he stepped into the house, leaving the others by the door. He crossed the dark living room and into the lit common area before stopping once more.

Everything was the same. His uncle’s desk was still on the corner to his right, then the cabinet against the wall. The phone is still in the nook to his left. One of his cousin’s study desk was still on the corner opposite to where he was standing. The wall paint was cracking slightly but it looked like it was given a new coat recently, maybe in the past few months. The first post of the staircase still held his aunt’s colorful prayer sashes, the same ones that he remembered his sisters using whenever they helped his aunt place offerings around the house in the morning after spending the night. Lance didn’t register movement to his left until he heard his aunt’s voice rise over the buzzing in his head.

“...Lance…?”

Lance turned towards the direction of his aunt’s voice and was met by the shocked expressions of his aunt and uncle. It seemed like his aunt was preparing to make _banten_ \--offerings--for the next week, while his uncle was eating dinner. The plastic bag filled with young coconut leaves had slipped out of her hands when she saw Lance standing in the common area, and his uncle had stopped eating and stood up from his seat in front of the television. Lance wordlessly walked (ran) towards his aunt, who was standing so still from the shock, and wrapped his arms around her. Only after several seconds did his aunt return the hug and started crying which also triggered Lance’s tears.

“Aduh… Lance, aduh ya tuhan…” he heard his aunt gasp in between soft sobs, and Lance couldn’t help the little laughter that escaped his lips. He didn't realize how much he had missed his aunt's Balinese accent. “Lance… kamu pulang juga akhirnya… Udah lama ngga kontak…”

Lance was laughing and crying as he pulled away from his aunt. “Maaf, tante,” he said, wiping her tears and picking up the plastic bag that she dropped. “Training Lance sekarang udah makin susah.” He gave her kisses on her cheeks and greeted his uncle as well, who looked beyond happy to see his nephew again after several years.

The rest of the paladins and Allura watched the tearful reunion, and they couldn’t help but smile. Each of them know of how much Lance missed home; one way or another they all have heard the stories of his mother and her house-front stall, of how his great-grandmother was essentially the Neighborhood Grandma no one messed around with lest you want to dishonor your family tree, and all the shenanigans Lance and his cousins would get into before he left Bali for the space academy.

Lance eventually turned to them but continued to speak in Bahasa. His Balinese was honestly beyond saving but at the very least, his Bahasa was still passable. “Ini semua teman Lance dari akademi,” he started, beckoning the others to come closer so he could introduce them better to his aunt and uncle.

First, he pulled Shiro. “Bli ganteng ini Shiro. Dia pilot paling top di akademi. Rambutnya putih gitu karena menurut dia trendy.” He gave Shiro two pats on his back and grinned, and Shiro may not have understood what Lance had said but he’s almost sure Lance just made fun of his hair. Still, Shiro offered a hand and smiled when Lance’s aunt and uncle shook his hand and was even surprised when Lance’s uncle pointed at Lance and said, “He have posters of you in his room.” Lance was visibly flustered, his aunt and uncle laughed, and Shiro relaxed his shoulders because he didn’t realize he was a bit nervous about seeing Lance’s family.

“Terus…” Lance made eye contact with Pidge and dragged her closer. “Ini Pidge. Paling pinter, paling pendek, paling galak kalau marah.” Pidge gave Lance’s relatives a small wave and shook his uncle’s hand and thought of how he reminded her of her uncle back in the States. He was also tall and lanky--maybe he played basketball in his youth, too?--and from the plants that lined the front yard, it looked like Lance’s uncle also had a green thumb. Pidge didn’t know how long they were going to stay at that house, but she quietly hoped that she could help with tinkering around the house.

“Ini sobat Lance,” Lance continued, pulling Hunk closer. “Namanya Hunk. Dia dari Polinesia. Polinesia tuh, mirip kayak Bali, jadi dia juga suka ke pantai. Suka bantuin Lance ini itu waktu kita di akademi. The best deh pokoknya.” Like the rest, Hunk didn’t really know what to do while Lance sputtered off in his native tongue, but he shook Lance’s aunt’s and uncle’s hands when they were offered. Lance’s aunt reminded Hunk of his own aunt back in the islands, and he briefly wondered if she was okay.

It was Allura’s turn next. “Ini Allura, wanita tercantik di seluruh angkasa,” Lance stated with a dramatic flair, holding one of her hands in his. “Waktu kita pertama kali ketemu, dia langsung jatuh cinta sama Lance. Tapi Lance harus menolak karena Lance sangat ingin menjadi pilot terhebat di dunia.” Allura had absolutely no idea what Lance was saying, but, like Shiro, she couldn’t help but remember the first time they met and how he had tried to flirt with her. Probably something about being his girlfriend. Lance’s aunt complemented Allura for her hair in broken English, and Allura thanked her and decided that Lance’s aunt was very sweet and that it was a shame that they didn’t have children of their own.

Finally, it was Keith’s turn. “Nah, yang terakhir ini Keith.” Lance Pulled Keith closer, wrapping an arm around his neck in a friendly chokehold. “Anak paling sok tau, paling sok keren, dan paling nyebelin di seluruh akademi, tapi dia pilot cukup bagus menurut Lance.” Keith didn’t know what Lance was saying about him, but knowing Lance, he was probably passively bad-mouthing him, but it didn’t look like it because Lance’s relatives were smiling and nodding. He’d just have to ask Lance about it later.

 

\--

 

After introductions, Lance’s aunt asked whether they had eaten or not, and Lance truthfully told her he and the others were starving, so she told him to come to the kitchen with her so she could reheat some food for everyone to eat. Thankfully, leaving everyone with his uncle won’t be a problem--since his uncle was a professor at the university they passed earlier, English won’t be a struggle for him and everyone could have a decent conversation going in Lance's absence.

“So Lance,” his aunt started in Bahasa as she plugged the rice cooker and turned it back on. “Does your mother know you were coming for a visit? I thought the academy won’t allow you to leave until you’re done with the program?”

“Uh, no, mom doesn’t know,” Lance replied, pulling out several _ingke_ along with the wax paper so his aunt wouldn’t have to wash the dishes. “And the academy… well, they _say_ they wouldn’t let us leave until the program is done, but it’s more of a publicity thing so the academy seems prestigious and rigorous. We get one time vacation pass for a little while so we’re not completely stressed out.” Lance had never lied to his aunt. It felt weird, and Lance felt the guilt starting to swell at the pit of stomach, but telling her that he’s been fighting aliens in space wasn’t exactly the most comforting thing to say.

His aunt hummed in reply. “You could’ve told us about it before, you know,” she said, pulling the box of water cups from one of the cupboards below the cupboard. Lance immediately nudged her aside so he could pick it up and place it on one of the unused dining chairs. “You mom was worried when you suddenly stopped calling for six months.”

“I know,” Lance replied, albeit quieter. When he’s not facing Galra troops or sparring with Keith or with one of the castle’s sparring bots, his mother, along with the rest of his immediate family, was always on his mind. “Is she okay? Is she healthy?”

“She’s fine. You’re planning to see her, aren’t you?” Lance’s aunt had this look on her face, the ‘You better go see your mother or I will starve you for days’ look.

“Yes, yeah, I miss her,” Lance replied with a small smile. “I didn’t want to immediately go back home tonight because I know she’s just going to freak out because I randomly came home with five other people, that’s why I came here first.”

“Good. Now call your friends and eat dinner. You can tell them about the sleeping arrangements over food.” His aunt removed the food cover on the dining table, and Lance’s mouth immediately began to water when the aromatic smell of _ayam betutu_ hit his nose. He knew he missed the dish while away at the academy and in space, but he didn’t realize just how much he missed it until now. At the sight of pure bliss that crossed Lance’s face, his aunt laughed. “You know, let me tell you. I didn’t know why, but before I got back from work today, I thought of you and decided to pick it up. I remember you love it. Who would’ve known that you’d be home several hours later. It’s like someone is keeping tabs on you and letting me know you're okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHH I DID IT. A couple of things I want to mention though.  
> 1) Lance referring himself as "Lance" instead of "I/me" when speaking in Bahasa. When you refer to yourself, you can actually say "saya" or "aku," the first one being more formal/humble than the second (the Balinese equivalent would be "tiang," I believe, like the previous chapter.) The third person referral is actually also common thing, but people would typically do it if they're a very young child or are very, very close to the person they're speaking to.
> 
> 2) From this point on, Lance's conversation with his family will be in Bahasa, but I'm going to write them in English. As much as I want to keep him speaking Bahasa, my own vocabulary escapes me lol
> 
> I AM SO SORRY THIS FIC TOOK A 5 MONTH HIATUS ;A;  
> school started and i basically died mid-september bUT I'M BACK AND IT'S DONE  
> THANKS FOR STICKING AROUND I HOPE YOU ENJOY MORE WORD VOMIT
> 
>  
> 
> "Aduh… Lance, aduh ya tuhan… Lance… kamu pulang juga akhirnya… Udah lama ngga kontak…" - Oh my god Lance, Lance, you've finally come home... It has been a long time since you contacted us...  
> "Maaf, tante... Training Lance sekarang udah makin susah" - Sorry auntie, my training is now more difficult  
> "Ini semua teman Lance dari akademi" - They're all my friends from the academy
> 
> Shiro's intro: This handsome man is Shiro. He's the top pilot in the academy. His hair's white like that because he thinks it's cool.  
> Pidge's intro: This is Pidge. The smartest, the shortest, and the scariest when angry.  
> Hunk's intro: This is my best friend. His name's Hunk. He's from the Polynesian Islands, kind of like Bali so he also likes the beaches. He helps me with things at the academy. The point is, he's the best.  
> Allura's intro: This is Allura, the most beautiful woman in the galaxy. When we first met, she immediately fell in love with me. But I had to reject her because I really wanted to become the best pilot in the world.  
> Keith's intro: And last, this is Keith. A know-it-all, pretends to be cool, and the most annoying in the entire academy, but he's a pretty okay pilot in my opinion.


End file.
